Sunday, February 24, 2013

I'll admit it--I'm horrible at following exact directions. The first time I noticed, was way back in high school during Home Economics. I did fine when it came to sewing the apron and the drawstring bag, but when it was time to use an honest to goodness pattern to create a skirt with all of the tabs, darts, pleats, seams to clip and press and those dots that needed to be marked and carefully lined up I created something grade-able but nothing I ever wanted to wear. At least not where anyone could see me. I think that's why I nearly gave up on sweet potato hashbrowns.

The first time I made the two recipes I shared here, the experience was tasty and worth putting on the rotating weekend breakfast roster. Alas, the next time I made them for breakfast is when I learned--following their directions exactly was the only way to recreate that tasty experience. So this morning I decided to try my own version. One that made sense for me and I could easily remember.

I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. Then diced (1/2" - 1") two medium sweet potatoes/yams, dropped them into a gallon storage bag with a tablespoon of water and microwaved them, using the auto baked potato button on the less cooked setting. Without that option, I would microwave them on high for approximately 4-5 minutes or until they've just begun to get tender.

When done cooking, I poked a hole in the bottom of the bag to drain the water and scattered the diced potatoes onto a SilPat covered cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil, several small pinches of rosemary, a dash of ginger, salt and pepper.

And then used a spatula or turner to toss well.

Placed the cookie sheet into the preheated oven for ten to twelve minutes.

Remove, carefully toss again and continue cooking for another ten to twelve minutes.

At the end, I put them under the broiler for a minute or two to get little more browning.

Serve (hopefully with a lovely cheese omelet with bacon and raspberry jam slathered toast on the side) and enjoy!

Carolyn Hax

"Yet no matter how desperate you are for an ideal outcome, you're still stuck without any control over anything except:1. Your actions;2. Your reaction to others' actions;3. Your ability to articulate what you want while respecting the boundaries set out by 1 and 2. "

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About Me

N is retired and K works in kindergarten. N plays in the Willamette Valley Community Band. K spends her free time creating on the computer, reading and being amused by the birds in the backyard.
Restaurants we frequent most often: Word of Mouth Bistro, Venti's, Sassy Onion, Amadeus, Andaluz.